There may come a time in your life when you will have to make some serious adjustments to the way you manage your investment portfolio. The way you handle your finances today will be critical to your wellbeing when you retire.

More and more people are feeling the pain of today's recessionary climate, and many of those who are feeling financially insecure are retirees and those who are planning to retire soon. It's a scary time for everyone, but it's not the end of the world.

It's time for a reality check. We were led into believing that the good times that we experienced over the past few years would last forever but, as we all know, the good times came to an abrupt end. We all know what happened then! The economy faltered, banks went insolvent, the stock market crashed, the real estate market went bust, and we all felt the pain.

The economy goes in cycles and what we are seeing in the economy today has been seen before. At times, it has been worse. This is not a new phenomenon. Eventually, the economy will start growing again and if we make the right choices, we will prosper as the economy gets better. It is all a part of the cycle.

As retirees, what do we do now? It's simple. We pick up the pieces and start rebuilding from where we are. We must take a look at our assets and get serious about making positive investments with what we still have. In essence, we must get back to doing what we know will make us financially secure for our future.

Even though we may have lost money in the stock market, our 401(k) plans, and/or on our other investments, those retirement vehicles are still viable. They may not be as strong as they once were but they are still there. They are still standing and with time, they will start to grow and prosper again. All we have to do is keep the faith and not lose sight of our goals and what we believe would be the best results for us.

Starting anew will be tough so we are going to have to make some serious but sensible adjustments in the way we think, the way we live, the way we spend, and in the way we invest. We have to become more conservative with our money and treat it well.

The days of free spending and lavish lifestyles are over for most of us, but in time, we will get back to living good lives and enjoying a sense of well being. But right now, we have to put off buying luxury items, make due with what we have, and learn to save money again.

We have to understand that a solid economic recovery is going to take time. That means patience and smart financial thinking is going to be required on our parts. More importantly, we must understand that we may never recover everything that we lost but we can build a strong retirement portfolio again.

Doing nothing is not an option, so let's go to work and make things happen. In the long run, we will make it through the challenges that lie ahead of us. There is a lamp beneath our feet and it will light the way through these dark times.

Our retirement years should be the best years of our lives. It's never to early to start preparing and it's never to late to make changes if it becomes necessary. So let's make the commitment, starting today, to making our retirement years good years.